She wouldn’t hide in the coven, she wouldn't hide from the demon dragons, and she wouldn't hide from the one thing in her life that she'd ever truly wanted. Love.
“I don't know. But let's start with I want to be the person who rescues my Dragon in distress.”
Rough Night
Fallyn’s sacrifice did not save Ky from receiving his own lashes. Instead of using Azynsa's tears to work himself free of the chains he called upon the inherent power in the element to encase his dwindling life force.
He knew it would cut him off from Jada, since he had given her his soul, she would be freaking out that she couldn’t feel him. They would not be able to connect now.
This was pure survival mode. He had hoped that Fallyn had secured Azynsa’s release. But as soon her birthday punishment had ended she left and didn't take Azynsa with her.
Ky couldn't blame her; he'd had a fourth as many lashes as that woman and was on the verge of death. He didn't understand how she had survived.
He didn't understand how he had survived.
Azynsa had thrown a fit and protested each strike of Kur-Jara’s whip, until demon dragons dragged her away, presumably back to the cell. She would be okay for now. He couldn’t say as much for the demon dragons that hauled her off. One or two of them were probably missing their balls by now.
The cavern was dark except for a muted glow from the nearby lava pit. He wasn’t sure if it was because the crone had used her magic to dampen the light or if his own vision was fading. Probably the latter, since he hadn’t seen the crone after her dressing down by the Black Dragon.
Ky still hung on the wall not having been freed when Kur-Jara was finished with him. They might've all thought he was actually dead.
He kind of felt like he was. He drifted in and out of consciousness and his head was filled with wool.
This was exactly what he thought the afterlife would look like, all hazy and filled with dragons and beautiful women.
Uhh…
“What the hell is up with these dumbass dragons?”
Uh-oh. Either he was hallucinating, or he had really died. Because a dazzling woman in white and a very cranky but colorful Dragon appeared before him.
“I don't think this one is dumb, dear. He did what he was supposed to: mark, claim, mate, and in record time I might add. But his mate is a little tougher than the others.”
Were they talking about him and Jada? She wasn't tough. Don't get him wrong, she was a badass, but she also had a soft vulnerable heart.
He tried to open his mouth to say that but couldn't.
“Don't try to speak, Kaiārahi Tarakona Puru. You need to save your energy. That little spark of life that you protected with your element is fighting to keep you alive. Good thing you had already given your soul to Jada.”
The woman approached him and pressed her hand against his chest. A soft blue light warmed him from the inside, but also felt like a cool balm to his injuries. His dragon stretched and basked in the glow.
“We can't stay long, son. Were only here to give you a little advice.” The big dragon spoke and his voice had a similar power to it as when Ky used his alpha voice to hand out commands to his Wyr. Match had another layer of it when he called up his alpha of alphas pomposity. But this Dragon had so much more. Could he possibly be?
The dragon grinned, or showed his teeth in a grin-like grimace and nodded. “I know what you're thinking, my boy, and the answer is yes.”
Holy First Dragon. It was the First Goddamn Dragon. So that meant… she was the White Witch!
God damn it. He was dead.
No. He couldn’t be dead. He’d just found Jada. The witch had said his water element had protected him and that Jada still had his soul.
But, if he wasn’t dead, how the hell was he hearing the First Dragon talk to him?
“Yes, I have always been this handsome. See that scale right there,” he used a talon to point to one particular scale on his chest with a brilliant blue color, “that's where you get your color from.”
“Sweetheart. There are a lot of Galla dragons around, I don't think we have time for your preening.”
The First Dragon leaned forward and not so quietly whispered, “She loves my preening, especially when it comes to my cock. I manscape for her, you know. You should think about doing that too.”
TMI, First Dragon, TMI.
Also, manscaping? The First Dragon was thousands of years old when he’d died, over seven hundred years ago. How did he know about manscaping?
Shouldn’t it be called dragonscaping?
Ky’s head was going to explode.
He did not need to know about the first Dragon and the White witch's sex life. God, he hoped they didn't know about his. If they were some sort of spirits from the afterlife, they could probably go around spying on any of their children, checking in to see if they are being naughty or nice.
Ky had definitely been naughty--very, very naughty--when it came to sex with Jada. He had every intention of getting naughtier. Assuming these two were here to help him get out of here and back to her.
He wondered if anyone else had ever imagined the first Dragon wearing a Santa hat? The White Witch could totally pull off a sexy Mrs. Claus costume.
Oh my God, what was he saying?
He must be feeling better if his mind could come up with weird shit like that.
“I don't think preening means what you think it means.”
The First Dragon rolled his eyes for only Ky to see. Then he whispered again this time so that the White Witch wouldn't hear. “She thinks I'm as dumb as you.”
She smacked him on the wing. “He's not dumb, Kur-Jara is getting more aggressive. We didn't expect him to go this far, at least not this soon.”
Wait, so that had to mean that the First Dragon and the White Witch new about Kur-Jara’s evil plans.
They needed to tell him. Ky tried to get their attention but got out nothing more than a small groan.
The White Witch turned her back on him, and Ky swore he saw her put her fist to her mouth, as if she were holding back sobs. Before he could even be sure though, she moved away. “You two talk a little shop, I'm going to try to find our little red Dragon.”
If there was another Dragon down here they should try to escape together. There was no way they were talking about Match, were they?
“Damn. I upset her.” The first Dragon began pacing in front of Ky clearly not thinking about the advice he was supposed to be giving. Ky was in no position to remind him.
“You'd think after a few couple of centuries, I'd have her figured out. Women. Am I right? You've got your hands full with that pretty little succubus.”
Ky would gladly have his hands full of Jada. He adored the way Jada's ass filled his hands, Jada's tits filled his mouth, Jada's heart filled his soul.
“Well, I've pissed her off already, might as well go big or go home.”
The First Dragon raised his head and stared down at Ky with an intensity that bore into him.
“Because she's not here, and can't hear us, I will let you in on a little secret, boy. But if you tell her I said anything, I'll turn your scales brown with orange polka-dots. You got me? “
It wasn't like Ky was going to refuse.
“There're a lot of mates running around these parts. You get that mermaid girl and get her out of here. Your brother's been waiting on her.”
So Azynsa was a mate. But whose? By brother did he mean a dragon or one of the other Wyverns? If a mermaid was going to be anyone's mate, she'd be best suited to a blue. Ky couldn't imagine her with a gold. Where would they live?
He felt like he should say yes, sir. But he still hadn't recovered his voice.
“And you boys watch out for the Black Dragon's youngling.”
Which one? There were like a million demon dragons, not to mention the Black Dragon’s daughter.
“That kid is both friend and foe. I wish we had figured out a way to get him out and raised right. He'll be jus
t as powerful as his father someday. It will depend on you all and his mate which way it goes.”
In his wildest imagination, there was no way a single one of the demon dragons had the power or the smarts to be a friend, but they were all pretty horrible foes. No fucking way any of them deserved a mate.
Then the First Dragon smacked Ky on the head with a tap of his tail. His brain went off like a 3D movie with the memory of Ciara's story about a man in the forest outside of Jakob's villa when she had escaped. She had sworn there had been a demon dragon fighting off some of the others. Then again, she had said he was in her apartment during their battle and had relinquished Jakob's soul to her.
Ky couldn’t identify his scent, and the other Wyverns couldn’t account for him either. The Wyverns had decided he was some sort of a rogue. He had to be the youngling the First Dragon was warning him about. Being the son of a Black Dragon certainly made him someone to watch out for.
The White Witch popped back into the room and slid underneath the First Dragon's wing. She snuggled into him and closed her eyes.
Ky hadn't thought a supernatural being like the White Witch would need comforting.
The two rested together like that for only a heartbeat before the White Witch recovered and patted the First Dragon's scales.
“We must go. Any longer and my sister will feel our presence. She’s going to be pissed I ruined her spell. Like she isn’t already mad and out for revenge.”
Ky wasn’t ready for them to leave. He still didn't know the Black Dragon's plans and he wasn't completely healed. How was he supposed to get himself and Azynsa out of here?
If only he had a little water.
The White Witch came up to Ky and kissed him on the forehead. “You take care of your mate, Ky. She still thinks she has to hide her true self away for you to love her. Prove her wrong.”
“Yeah, and then for good measure give her a good couple dozen orgasm. Mates like that.”
His brain fizzled, first from the sex advice from the First Dragon, but then in a nice way, like going back to bed on a Sunday morning.
Ky blacked out and when he blinked open his eyes the room was filled with the glowing light from the lava again, but no First Dragon or White Witch.
Shit. At least she had healed him quite a lot. The burns on his body weren’t even tender anymore. He looked down and only a few scars remained. Sweet as.
Ky hadn't exactly had favor on his side today, but it appeared he had the First Dragon and the White Witch on his team.
He yanked at the chains, damn tired of waiting to be rescued.
So far, Match sucked at this game. He should have been here by now if they were in fact in the bottom of the caldera in Africa.
Ky growled out his frustration and jerked as hard as he could against the chains. They popped out easily, as if he had had the strength of his Dragon, and he tumbled to the floor.
In front of him, digging into the porous lava rock, were talons, blue ones.
His talons. He rubbed his gaze along his forearms but saw scales instead of skin.
He took a deep breath and blew out a frigid puff of air.
Fuck yeah.
He had his Dragon back.
He used his Dragon sight to peer into the dark tunnels and find both his enemies and his little mermaid. He didn't see Azynsa anywhere, but the Black Dragon, followed by a shit ton of demon dragons, was headed his way.
“You stupid shits. How fucking hard is it to find one half human woman when I tell you exactly where the fuck she is.” Ooh, the dickhead was mad. Poor baby.
That filled Ky with a little bit of joy. Jada was safe for a little longer.
“You made them too stupid, you old hag.”
“They're from your genes, not mine. My suppression spells only do so much.”
Strange. Why would Kur-Jara have the crone suppress anything in his offspring? When Ky got out of here, and it was when now, not if, he had a lot of intel to bring back to the AllWyr. Then Jakob and Match could hash out what all these questions meant. He was taking a goddamn vacation. Just him and Jada in a secluded little cove, where they can have plenty of sex on the beach, and not the drinks.
This was Ky's chance to kick the Black Dragon's ass. He hadn't had a chance to stretch the increase in powers he'd felt when he and Jada mated. It had been curtailed by her powerful allure. But, now that he knew what that felt like, the next time she used it he would be ready to harness her power and add it to his own.
But the First Dragon had given him the mission to get Azynsa out of here.
On one claw, the odds were stacked against him in a battle. This was their home turf and there were a lot more of them. He had no doubt he could take a lot of the demon dragons out, and at least injure the Black Dragon. He wasn't sure he'd make it out of that battle with enough energy to find Azynsa and escape. But damn, he hated leaving this opportunity untaken.
He would go find Azynsa and he would get back to Jada as soon as he could. In one more minute. Anything else he could glean from eavesdropping on the enemy would help them win the war. Loose lips sink shits. Lots and lots of demon dragon shits.
Their voices were getting louder and he would only have a few moments. Now that he was back and in dragon form, it wasn't like he could hide behind a rock.
He had a plan that involved grabbing Azynsa and stretching his senses to find the tunnels leading to the tide pool. Come hell or hopefully high water, they'd get out of here quickly.
“Yes, I know the succubus went back to her coven. Stupid bitch. Leonard can only protect her for so long.”
Ky had missed something. Why had Jada gone back to Leon?
“The dragons have forsaken her for taking the golden shard. She won't be safe for long,” the crone said, gleefully.
If Ky's heart had plummeted any further it would have fallen right out of his chest, rolled across the floor, and into the lava. Jada had taken Cage’s soul shard.
No. He wouldn't believe it. He would've known. She trusted him; she would've told him.
“She still thinks she has to hide her true self for you to love her.” That's what the White Witch had said. “She's tougher than the others.”
Now Ky understood what that meant.
Being Jada's mate would be tough on him, if she couldn't be trusted.
His soul screamed that that wasn't right. She was his soulmate--his true mate. He loved her. Fate would not have given him a mate he could not trust.
He had no idea if that was true or not. Maybe this was the way of it. He had no information to go on. The only other dragons who had mates were Jakob and Steele. They were both beyond happy in their relationships. But before that it had been generations. What if this happened all of the time back then, making enemies lovers? There was no one to ask.
Ky was so distracted that he didn't even notice the enemy had found him until there were three demon dragons on his back.
He roared and swatted them away, using the deep hurt and anger at Jada's betrayal to fuel his battle. All three of the demon dragons who attacked him first hit the cavern wall so hard they instantly exploded into ash.
“Get him,” Kur-Jara roared. The man shifted into his own big Black Dragon and spewed fire at Ky's head.
Ky jump to the air and dive bombed the Black Dragon, aiming his talons for its eyes.
The black Dragon shot another spout of flame at Ky, but he defended with an icy blast. He still had no water, but he could control the temperature of the air, ice being part of his element.
He had enough fury in him to turn half the horde into ice cubes, which he scooped up and threw like some little projectile icicles at the Black Dragon's head.
When he ran out of demon dragons to throw, he could throw his heart. Until he saw Jada again and found out the truth of whether she had betrayed all of Dragonkind, and him, his heart would be guarded like it should have been from the start.
He’d opened himself too early, loved her too fast.
From here on ou
t, his heart would be as hard as stone and cold as ice.
Betrayal
After everyone was done flipping out, probably because Ciara used her magic on them, there was still a standoff between the dragons and Leon.
“I don't want to start a war with you too, Incubus, but I will if we don't walk out of here with that soul shard.” Jakob’s words had a whole new ring to them, one that had a lot more power behind it than Jada had ever heard before.
“It's not my call, Dragon. You will not interfere with the one making the decisions here.” Leon was a hell of a lot older than Jakob. Maybe as old as their First Dragon.
Jada did not want to see the Green Dragon wyvern and Leon throw down. But, she certainly wasn't the one making decisions around here.
“Then, who is?” Even Jada could sense Ciara's emotional hold on Jakob was slipping. She put her hand on his arm and the fist he had bunched dropped open.
“Only the ones Portia has wronged can decide her fate. That is how it works in the coven. Since the Dragon whose soul she has stolen is not here, the one she has betrayed will have to decide what to do with her.”
Every single eye in the room turned to Jada.
Crap oh rama.
“What do you want to do, Jada? You can do anything from permanently ban her up to death.”
“Death?”
“Yes,” Leon nodded, “she threatened both your life and the life of your mate. It's fair for you to threaten hers in return, even take it.”
Jada had heard that other covens were much more brutal than Leon's. But it was only ever rumors. Leon was strict with them, but Portia's last punishment was the first one they'd had in years.
Jada wondered what could have happened to Portia when she had been banned and sent to Geshtianna's coven. What had happened in that month to turn her friend and sister against her?
She had a hard time believing that this whole thing was over a guy.
If Portia felt anything like what Jada felt for Ky, she could understand. It still hurt.
If this were truly her decision, she needed to make it count.
“I won't harm Portia.” The coven side of the room erupted in protests. Jada raised her hand, and surprisingly they quieted. “I don't deny that her betrayal has cut me deep. I'm not sure it's a wound that can be healed.”